Systems and methods for creating and presenting virtual events

ABSTRACT

Systems, programs, and media for creating virtual events and presenting the virtual event content to attendees of the virtual events are described herein. A virtual event hosting system may receive input from an event creator for creating an event comprising stages, sessions, networking, and expos. The event may provide a virtual environment for presenting users to make presentations and attendees to view and interact with the presenting users and other attendees. Data associated with the event and the attendees may be collected for analysis to improve engagement in future virtual events.

BACKGROUND 1. Field

Embodiments of the invention generally relate to a web-based platformfor creating and hosting virtual events. More specifically, embodimentsof the invention relate to systems and methods for creating and hostingvirtual events and connecting presenting users with attendees of thevirtual events.

2. Related Art

Traditionally, people attend conferences in person. The conferences maybe provided at a location and promote education and networking within anindustry. Presenting users provide presentations at the conference thatpeople may attend in person. The conferences may provide stages for thepresenting user to present, and sessions may follow the presentationallowing the attendees a chance to engage the presenters and otherattendees. Furthermore, expos presenting and selling products may beconstructed for quick and easy engagement with the attendees.

Typical conferences today present several problems. For example, theseconferences are typically held at one or a limited number of locations.Furthermore, these conferences are typically held periodically, such asannually or bi-annually. For presenters and attendees to attend theseevents, the presenters and the attendees typically must travel longdistances. The presenters and the attendees typically must buy planetickets and spend several hours, if not several days, travelling to theconference. Traveling to just a single conference can be extremelyexpensive and time consuming.

What is needed is a virtual environment that facilitates the remotecreation and presentation of events. Providing these events virtuallycan cut down on wasted time and wasted money by allowing the attendees,presenting users, and sponsors to conduct the event without having totravel all the way to the location of the event to present and attend inperson.

SUMMARY

Embodiments of the invention address the above-described need byproviding a virtual event hosting system that facilitates theinteraction between presenters, attendees, and sponsors for education,networking, and product promotion. In some embodiments, the virtualevent hosting system may provide virtual presentations or virtual stagesfor presenting users to present information and attendees to view thepresentations. The attendees may also access sessions where theattendees may interact with presenters, other attendees, and content.The attendees may also set up networking engagements where attendees mayinteract with other attendees, presenters, or representatives ofsponsors. Expos may also be constructed to promote sponsors' products,services, careers, and any other content. Furthermore, expos may alsoprovide information about the presenting users, presentations,companies, education materials, in video, audio, and image form toattendees.

A first embodiment is directed to a method of creating a virtual eventby an event organizer and presenting the virtual event to an eventattendee, the method comprising the steps of: receiving, via a userinterface and from the event organizer, creation of the virtual event,wherein the virtual event comprises stages, sessions, networkconnections, expos, and one or more presenters; receiving, via the userinterface, registration creation information including ticketinformation for attending the virtual event; creating a stage supportinga presentation from a presenter of the one or more presenters to aplurality of attendees including the event attendee; creating a sessionsupporting live interaction between the presenter and the plurality ofattendees; creating the networking connections supporting interactionbetween the event attendee and the event attendee; creating an expoproviding virtual booths comprising sponsor materials; receiving, fromthe event attendee, a registration for the virtual event; receiving, bythe event attendee, a selection of the stage for viewing thepresentation; presenting a video of the presentation in real time to theevent attendee; receiving a selection of the session by the eventattendee; connecting, by video, the event attendee with the presenter;receiving a selection of the network connections by the event attendee;receiving a selection of the expo by the event attendee; and presenting,to the event attendee, an expo video displaying information indicativeof a company associated with the virtual event.

A second embodiment is directed to one or more non-transitorycomputer-readable media storing computer-executable instructions that,when executed by a processor, perform a method of creating a virtualevent for presentation to attendees of the virtual event. The methodcomprises the steps of receiving, by a user interface and from a user,creation of the virtual event, wherein the virtual event comprisesstages, sessions, network connections, expos, and one or morepresenters, receiving, by the user interface, registration informationincluding ticket information for attending the virtual event, creating astage supporting a presentation from a presenter of the one or morepresenters to a plurality of attendees, creating a session supportinglive interaction between the presenter and the plurality of attendees,creating the network connections supporting interaction between a firstattendee and a second attendee of the plurality of attendees, creatingan expo providing virtual booths comprising expo videos, and presentingthe virtual event to the plurality of attendees of the virtual event.

A third embodiment is directed to a system for presenting a virtualevent for attendance by a user. The system comprises a processor, a datastore, a display for presenting a graphical user interface to the user,and one or more non-transitory computer-readable media storingcomputer-executable instructions that, when executed by the processor,perform a method of presenting the virtual event. The method comprisesthe steps of receiving input from the user indicative of a registrationfor the virtual event, receiving, by the user, a selection of a stagefor viewing a presentation, presenting a video of the presentation inreal time to the user, receiving a selection of a session by the user,connecting the user with a presenter of the presentation by video in thesession, connecting, by video, the user with an attendee of the virtualevent, receiving a selection of an expo by the user, and presenting, tothe user, an expo video displaying information indicative of a companyassociated with the presenter.

This summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts in asimplified form that are further described below in the detaileddescription. This summary is not intended to identify key features oressential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended tobe used to limit the scope of the claimed subject matter. Other aspectsand advantages of the current invention will be apparent from thefollowing detailed description of the embodiments and the accompanyingdrawing figures.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIGURES

Embodiments of the invention are described in detail below withreference to the attached drawing figures, wherein:

FIG. 1 depicts an exemplary hardware platform for certain embodiments ofthe invention;

FIG. 2 depicts an embodiment of a user welcome page presented by avirtual event hosting system;

FIG. 3 depicts an embodiment of an organization page presented by thevirtual event hosting system;

FIG. 4 depicts an embodiment of an event creation overview page;

FIG. 5 depicts an embodiment of a sessions editing page for editingparameters of sessions;

FIG. 6 depicts an embodiment of an attendee's page for trackingattendance of an event;

FIG. 7 depicts an embodiment of a registration page for managing eventregistrations;

FIG. 8 depicts an embodiment of a reports page for selecting virtualevent analytics reports;

FIG. 9 depicts an exemplary process for creating an event by the virtualevent hosting system;

FIG. 10 depicts an embodiment of an attendee registration page;

FIG. 11 depicts an embodiment of an attendee landing page;

FIG. 12 depicts an embodiment of a video display for engaging presentingusers and attendees of the event; and

FIG. 13 depicts an embodiment of a process for attending an event.

The drawing figures do not limit the invention to the specificembodiments disclosed and described herein. The drawings are notnecessarily to scale, emphasis instead being placed upon clearlyillustrating the principles of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The following detailed description references the accompanying drawingsthat illustrate specific embodiments in which the present teachings canbe practiced. The embodiments are intended to describe aspects of thepresent teachings in sufficient detail to enable those skilled in theart to practice the invention(s) herein described. Other embodiments canbe utilized, and changes can be made without departing from the claimedscope. The following detailed description is, therefore, not to be takenin a limiting sense. The scope of the claimed invention(s) is definedonly by the appended claims, along with the full scope of equivalents towhich such claims are entitled.

In this description, references to “one embodiment,” “an embodiment,” or“embodiments” mean that the feature or features being referred to areincluded in at least one embodiment of the technology. Separatereferences to “one embodiment,” “an embodiment,” or “embodiments” inthis description do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment and arealso not mutually exclusive unless so stated and/or except as will bereadily apparent to those skilled in the art from the description. Forexample, a feature, structure, act, etc. described in one embodiment mayalso be included in other embodiments but is not necessarily included.Thus, embodiments of the invention can include a variety of combinationsand/or integrations of the embodiments described herein.

Generally, embodiments of the invention are directed to a virtual eventhosting platform for providing virtual events connecting presentingusers of the virtual event with attendees of the virtual events. Thevirtual event hosting system may be operable to receive input from theuser scheduling and customizing an event for presenting users to presentor perform to users that attend the event. In some embodiments, the userthat creates the event may be referenced as the event creator (or theorganizer) and the user that attends the event may be referenced hereinas the attendee. The event creator may also be a presenting user and/oran attendee. In some embodiments, the organizer may also be a presenterat the event. Any user may attend, present, host, and create events.

In some embodiments, events comprise a plurality of communicationconnections between presenters and attendees. Events may comprisestages, sessions, networking engagements, virtual expos, and any otherplatforms for connecting presenters, sponsors, attendees, and any otheruser that has access to attend the event. In some embodiments, any userthat has access to attend any part of an event may be generallyreferenced as an attendee. Stages may provide a virtual platform forpresenters to present to an audience of attendees via a live (ortime-shifted) broadcast. The attendees may attend the stage virtuallyvia a user interface comprising a video display. The user interface mayallow the attendee access to view the presentation live or recorded andchat with other attendees and the presenter by text, audible, and videocommunication.

In some embodiments, the event comprises one or more sessions. Thesessions may allow attendees to communicate directly with a presentervia one or more video interfaces. An attendee may provide audio andvideo such that the presenter and other attendees may hear and see theattendee. Generally, the sessions may provide a virtual communicationplatform for providing question and answer sessions between theattendees and the presenting users.

In some embodiments, the event comprises networking opportunities. Thenetwork opportunities may provide time-limited communications betweenattendees at the events. The attendees may be connected to otherattendees randomly or the connections may be pre-selected by anorganizer or by the attendees. The attendees may connect by the videointerface described in embodiments herein.

In some embodiments, the event includes one or more expos in whichsponsors may promote products and services provided by the sponsors. Theexpos may be virtual booths for presenting information on exemplarytopics such as company future expectations, products, services, and anyother information that may be useful in traditional expo format. Theexpos may be provided by the user interface and may display any video,images, descriptions, and may include third-party applicationintegrations for engagement by the attendees.

In some embodiments, the virtual event hosting system may track userinteractions within the virtual event and integrate with applications ofmobile devices to track user locations when the user is attending anevent in person or virtually. The application may provide virtual eventanalytics to the event creator or organizer, data customer and databrokers, and offer customized scheduling to attendees based on a userprofile and the user interactions to provide a customized userexperience.

FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary hardware platform 100 for certainembodiments of the invention. Computer 102 can be a desktop computer, alaptop computer, a server computer, a mobile device such as a smartphoneor tablet, or any other form factor of general- or special-purposecomputing device. Depicted with computer 102 are several components, forillustrative purposes. In some embodiments, certain components may bearranged differently or absent. Additional components may also bepresent. Included in computer 102 is system bus 104, whereby othercomponents of computer 102 can communicate with each other. In certainembodiments, there may be multiple busses, or components may communicatewith each other directly. Connected to system bus 104 is centralprocessing unit (CPU) 106. Also attached to system bus 104 are one ormore random-access memory (RAM) modules 108. Also attached to system bus104 is graphics card 110. In some embodiments, graphics card 110 may notbe a physically separate card, but rather may be integrated into themotherboard or the CPU 106. In some embodiments, graphics card 110 has aseparate graphics-processing unit (GPU) 112, which can be used forgraphics processing or for general purpose computing (GPGPU). Also ongraphics card 110 is GPU memory 114. Connected (directly or indirectly)to graphics card 110 is display 116 for user interaction. In someembodiments, no display is present, while in others it is integratedinto computer 102. Similarly, peripherals such as keyboard 118 and mouse120 are connected to system bus 104. Like display 116, these peripheralsmay be integrated into computer 102 or absent. In some embodiments,additional peripherals such as a microphone or video camera may also bepresent and connected to system bus 104. In some embodiments, suchperipherals may be detachable connected to computer 102 via a wired orwireless connection. In other embodiments, such as a tablet orsmartphone, these peripherals are integrated into computer 102. Alsoconnected to system bus 104 is local storage 122, which may be any formof computer-readable media and may be internally installed in computer102 or externally and removably attached.

Computer-readable media include both volatile and nonvolatile media,removable and nonremovable media, and contemplate media readable by adatabase. For example, computer-readable media include (but are notlimited to) RAM, ROM, EEPROM, flash memory or other memory technology,CD-ROM, digital versatile discs (DVD), holographic media or otheroptical disc storage, magnetic cassettes, magnetic tape, magnetic diskstorage, and other magnetic storage devices. These technologies canstore data temporarily or permanently. However, unless explicitlyspecified otherwise, the term “computer-readable media” should not beconstrued to include physical, but transitory, forms of signaltransmission such as radio broadcasts, electrical signals through awire, or light pulses through a fiber-optic cable. Examples of storedinformation include computer-useable instructions, data structures,program modules, and other data representations.

Finally, network interface card (NIC) 124 is also attached to system bus104 and allows computer 102 to communicate over a network such asnetwork 126. NIC 124 can be any form of network interface known in theart, such as Ethernet, ATM, fiber, Bluetooth, or Wi-Fi (i.e., the IEEE802.11 family of standards). NIC 124 connects computer 102 to localnetwork 126, which may also include one or more other computers, such ascomputer 128, and network storage, such as data store 130. Generally, adata store such as data store 130 may be any repository from whichinformation can be stored and retrieved as needed. Examples of datastores include relational or object-oriented databases, spreadsheets,file systems, flat files, directory services such as LDAP and ActiveDirectory, or email storage systems. A data store may be accessible viaa complex API (such as, for example, Structured Query Language), asimple API providing only read, write, and seek operations, or any levelof complexity in between. Some data stores may additionally providemanagement functions for data sets stored therein such as backup orversioning. Data stores can be local to a single computer such ascomputer 128, accessible on a local network such as local network 126,or remotely accessible over Internet 132. Local network 126 is in turnconnected to Internet 132, which connects many networks such as localnetwork 126, remote network 134 or directly attached computers such ascomputer 136. In some embodiments, computer 102 can itself be directlyconnected to Internet 132.

In some embodiments, computer 102 may be generally referenced as avirtual event hosting system. The virtual event hosting system may be aweb- or cloud-based application and may be provided on any computerdevice described in reference to computer 102 above. The virtual eventhosting system may access other computer devices, sensors, andapplications stored on other computing devices as well as peripheraldevices. The virtual event hosting system may track user actions wheninterfacing with the virtual event hosting system and by accessingvarious applications associated with computer 102. In some embodiments,any data tracking and access may be customized by the user.

Creating an Event

FIG. 2 illustrates an exemplary embodiment of a discovery page 200 withevents tab 206 selected. In some embodiments, discovery page 200 maycomprise user selection menu 202 comprising home tab 204, events tab206, connections tab 208, and profile tab 210. The user page may bedisplayed to the user when the user is logged into the virtual eventhosting platform. The displayed user page corresponds to attending userUser1. Discovery page 200 may display upcoming events to which theattending user is registered. The attending user may select the upcomingevents and view scheduling information for the upcoming events. In someembodiments, a set of most recent networking opportunities may bepresented in discovery page 200. The networking connections may bepresenting users and attendees of events, and the presenting users andattendees' names and contact information may be presented.

In some embodiments, discovery page 200 may present events tab 206.Events tab 206 may present recommended events 212, upcoming events 214,past events 216, and saved events 218. Recommended events 212 may be alist of events that are recommended to the user. The events may berecommended to the user by analyzing upcoming events 214, past events216, saved events 218, the user profile, user click throughs, eventsthat the user has viewed but not clicked, length of time viewing events,third-party data obtained from search engines, social media sites, andany other data that may be obtained to predict events that the user maybe interested in.

In some embodiments, upcoming events 214, past events 216, and savedevents 218 may be presented to the user. As described above, upcomingevents 214 may be events for which the user is registered. Past events216 may be events that the user has already attended. Saved events 218may be events that the user has saved for later viewing andconsideration.

In some embodiments, live events button 220 may be presented by thediscovery page 200. Live events button 220 may be selected to displayevents that are currently taking place that also have available openregistrations. The user may select live events button 220 to view anylive events from any page. In some embodiments, help button 222 may beselected to access a menu of help topics or directly contact a virtualevent system representative.

In some embodiments, connections tab 208 may be presented to the user.Under the connections tab, network connections may be presented to theuser. The network connections may provide name, contact information, andlinks to contact the connected people. The connected people may bepresenting users and other attendees of events. The connected people maybe users that are connected through the events, or, in some embodiments,the virtual event hosting system may match the people to the user basedon analyzed profile and event data as described above.

In some embodiments, profile tab 210 is presented by the virtual eventhosting system of the discovery page 200. The profile tab 210, whenselected, may present user information that may be updated and saved bythe user. The user information may be any personal information such as,for example, name, username, password, biometric log-in information,contact information, as well as likes, dislikes, interests, and anyother information that may be useful for virtual event analytics. Insome embodiments, profile information may also comprise any historicaldata recorded from events and interactions with the virtual eventhosting system and stored third-party data as described above.

FIG. 3 illustrates an exemplary welcome page 302 to the user generatedby the virtual event hosting system described in FIG. 1 above by theexemplary user interface 300. In some embodiments, the welcome page 302presents top menu 304, side menu 306, welcome banner 308, plandescription 310, help bar 312, upcoming events field 314, help button316, and a live events button 318. In some embodiments, top menu 304comprises selectable category tabs such as overview tab 320, events tab322, attendees tab 324, profile tab 326, integrations tab 328, billingtab 330, and team tab 332. Each category of top menu 304 is discussed indetail below.

In some embodiments, side menu 306 displays a username and anorganization of which the user is a member. The organization may be anygroup that may associate users such that all members of the organizationhave a minimum access level to settings and events. As such, each memberof the organization may view similar content and share content withother members. As shown, welcome banner 308 states “WelcomeOrganization1.” As such, welcome banner 308 may be presented to eachmember of the organization upon opening welcome page 302. In someembodiments, the user may be a sole user and may not be associated withan organization. Embodiments, described herein may relate to anyorganization or any sole user.

In some embodiments, the organization to which the user is a member mayhave a profile and a plan. Plan description 310 may display the type ofplan associated with the organization and/or the user. The types ofplans may include individual, business, organization, as well as limitedand unlimited plans. Each plan may serve various numbers of people aswell as allow various numbers of attendees to create events. The variousplans may also cost various monetary amounts depending on the level ofaccess to events and a number of users included in the plan.

In some embodiments, overview tab 320 displayed on top menu 304 providesthe welcome banner 308 for the organization to which the user is amember. The organization may include a plurality of members and may beany group, company, or individual. In some embodiments, there is noorganization, and the user may simply log in, create events, and attendevents depending on the plan type. Overview tab 320 further presentsupcoming events field 314 such that the user may view and select anupcoming event. Upcoming events may have attributes including, forexample, dates of events, number of people registered for events, and astatus of events which indicates if the event is live or upcoming and ifthe event is open or restricted. When the attendee user selects anupcoming event, the user may be directed to a registration page thatdisplays a text, picture, and video description and a selection toregister for the event. The registration page is described in moredetail below.

In some embodiments, when events tab 322 is selected, a list of eventsrecommended for the user may be displayed. The list of events mayinclude popular events or a list customized for the user based on theuser profile, user interactions within the virtual event hosting system,and/or location and tracking data for the user at a live event. Thedisplayed recommended events may be determined based on any dataassociated with the user including historical interaction data, profiledata, and data collected from third-party applications and websites.

In some embodiments, when the user selects attendees tab 324, a list ofattendees across all events organized by the user may be provided. Theuser may select attendee names from the list and edit the list. The usermay select names and contact information may be displayed as well asinput fields to send messages or emails, or call the attendees. In someembodiments, contact information and location information may bedisplayed along with the attendee identification information.

In some embodiments, when the user selects profile tab 326, a profile ofthe organization and/or user is displayed and may be edited. The profilemay comprise any information associated with the user or theorganization. The profile may include the user's name, contactinformation, log in information, as well as event preferences and eventattendance history. The virtual event hosting system may store dataassociated with the user and user's data for later analysis. The profilemay also include plan information and event access information.

In some embodiments, the user may select integrations tab 328. A list ofintegrations that may be accessible by the user may be displayed. Theintegrations list may include any applications that may be approved forrunning on the virtual event hosting system or applications from whichthe virtual event hosting system may provide or obtain data. Theapplications may include social networking, gaming, financial, datamanagement, screensharing, or any other applications that may be usefulto and desirable by event creators, event hosts, and event attendees.Organizers may access integrations tab 328 to access integrations aswell as request and build integrations with the virtual event hostingplatform. The integrations are discussed in more detail below.

In some embodiments, billing tab 330 may be selected and the billingdetails of the account associated with the user and/or the organizationmay be managed. The user may have various levels of virtual eventhosting system plan membership such as (for example) base plan,mid-level plan, and premium plan. In some embodiments, some accountlevels may be free and include limited features. For example, the baseplan may be free and include free access and free creation of eventswith up to 50 members. Furthermore, the base plan may have limitedvirtual event analytics. In contrast, the premium plan may be the mostexpensive and include unlimited members and events including unlimitedattendees to stages, sessions, networking, and expos, and provide accessto all possible virtual event analytics. The accounts and plansassociated with the user and/or the organization may be managed underthe billing tab.

In some embodiments, under team tab 332, a list of members and contactinformation for the organizer organization may be displayed and edited.The list of members may comprise contact information for members of theorganization. The team members may be added and removed and contactinformation may be edited under team tab 332.

FIG. 4 illustrates an exemplary event creation overview page 400. Theevent creation overview page 400 may be accessed by selecting an eventcreation button that may be provided under events tab 322 or any of thetabs of the welcome page 302 in FIG. 3. The event creation overview page400 may also be presented by receiving a selection of the organizerorganization name presented in FIG. 3. In some embodiments, intermediatepages may be displayed for naming the event, setting a schedule topublish the event, and listing viewability of the event. When the eventis named and scheduled the event may be created, and the event creationoverview page 400 may be presented.

In some embodiments, event creation overview page 400 comprises eventsetup checklist 402, links to preview and publish the event 404, eventlinks 406, virtual event analytics bar 408, and active attendees 410which, in some embodiments, may be registrations including registrationdemographics and number of registrations. Creation of events may bemanaged from the event creation overview page 400; however, moredetailed creation may be provided at the event creation menu 420 whichis discussed in detail below.

In some embodiments, event setup checklist 402 may provide a quick listof items that the user may complete to create the event. The items onthe event setup checklist 402 may be, for example, set up event 412,build venue 414, add presenting users 416, and preview and publish 418.Any number of items may be added to the list and may be customizable bythe user. As the user completes the items on the list, indications ofcompletion of each event item may be shown. Furthermore, event setupchecklist 402 may display a number of, or a percentage of, the eventcreation items completed.

The exemplary event creation overview page 400 may comprise links toother pages of the user interface that may be accessible by preview andpublish the event 404 and event links 406. For example, links to keeptrack of event details, create and track registration and tickets,create an events landing page, and any other links that may be usefuland customizable by the user may be included on the event creationoverview page 400.

The exemplary event creation overview page 400 may also present eventcreation menu 420 for creating the event creation items on the eventsetup checklist 402. For example, input may be received at setup tab 422to set up a virtual venue or a live venue for the event and providelinks to view the event at the venue. Furthermore, a theme for thevirtual event may be created. The user may edit the name, schedule, anddetails of the event. The details of the event may comprise items suchas, for example, stages for the presenting users and if and how thestages are displayed virtually. In some embodiments, buttons may bepresented to turn on items and provide links to pages presenting itemssuch as stage, networking, replay, session, and expo. Each item may havea corresponding tab in the event creation menu 420 and are described inmore detail below.

Furthermore, under the setup tab 422, a theme for the event may becreated. A theme may comprise a list of various colors that may beselected for use in the event pages and marketing of the event. The usermay select colors that correspond to the company's brand. In someembodiments, when the user selects a color palette for the theme,templates for the event landing pages and marketing may be updated withthe event colors. In some embodiments, users may create banners andpromotional pages to upload for the event pages and promotions and thecolors may be selected to coordinate with the uploaded colors.

In some embodiments, following the setup tab may be a venue tab 424depicted in FIG. 5. The venue tab 424 may further provide a menucomprising various options such as reception tab 502, schedule tab 504,stages tab 506, sessions tab 508, networking tab 510, expo tab 512,sponsors tab 514, and venue controls tab 516. FIG. 5 presents anexemplary sessions page 500 presented when receipt of selection of venuetab 424 and sessions tab 508 are selected.

In some embodiments, when reception tab 502 is selected, the virtualevent hosting system may present input fields for receiving a welcomemessage. The user may input the welcome message for attendees to viewupon registration and upon entrance into the live or virtual event.Furthermore, sponsors and integrations may be input by the user suchthat the user may communicate and provide sponsor deals for theattendees upon registration and attending the event. The integrationsmay be any software that may be used within the virtual event hostingsystem. For example, the user may send the welcome message andsponsorship deals via a social media platform such as, for example,TWITTER™ or FACEBOOK™.

When the user selects schedule tab 504, a calendar (not shown) may bedisplayed. The calendar may be displayed by year, month, week, and daysuch that users may input the sessions to be at particular times. Usersmay also schedule any promotions, stages, expos, networking, and anyother items for the event. In some embodiments, the virtual eventhosting system may connect with or facilitate interaction withinteractions such as GOOGLE™ Calendars, MICROSOFT™ Calendars, and anyother calendars that may be integrated into the virtual event hostingsystem. In some embodiments, the user's personal calendar may beintegrated and accessible in the virtual event hosting system. In someembodiments, the virtual event hosting system may push data to anexternally stored calendar which may display the schedule information.

Under stages tab 506, the user may select and define a stage forpresentations by presenting users presented as live feeds. The stagesmay be virtual stages for presenting user presentations that arepresented visually and are described in detail below. Under stages tab506, the user may create stages, create, and edit the name of thestages, provide a description of the presentation at the stages, definewho can participate and has access to the stages, who and how attendeescan watch the feeds of the stages, maximum numbers of attendees forattendance at the stages, and types of tickets that are acceptable forthe stages.

In some embodiments, sessions tab 508 may be accessed by the eventcreation menu 420. FIG. 5 depicts exemplary sessions page 500. Whensessions tab 508 is selected by the user, the sessions list may bepresented to the user as shown in FIG. 5. In some embodiments, stagestab 506, networking tab 510, and expo tab 512 may be set up for the userto create and edit in a similar way. In some embodiments, sessions maybe virtual presentations where attendees may interact with otherattendees and the presenting users of the event. The sessions maycomprise two-way open communication between attendees and presentingusers. In some embodiments, the event may comprise a plurality ofpresenting users at a plurality of sessions and attendees may bescheduled to attend the plurality of session on location or virtually.In some embodiments, the sessions may only be virtual and may beprovided through the virtual event hosting system allowing access to thepresenting users and the registered attendees. The user may createvarious sessions with promotional images, descriptions, registrationrestrictions, orders, and the user may be allowed to add and removesessions. Any number of sessions may be set up for virtual or liveevents and may be recorded and edited for future viewing by attendeesthat register to view the events in the future or by attendees duringthe event.

In some embodiments, the event creation menu 420 may present networkingtab 510. Networking tab 510 may provide creation and editing of usernetworking connections. Networking connections may be created to linkattendees with presenting users, presenting users with other presentingusers, and attendees with other attendees. The networking connectionsmay be created by the user or may automatically be created by thevirtual event hosting system based on the user profile and past eventinteractions of the user. The networking connections may be presented toattendees and presenting users and is discussed in more detail below. Insome embodiments, the attendees may create networking connections asdescribed below.

In some embodiments, when the user selects expo tab 512, the user may bepresented with options to create and edit expos comprising booths. Thebooths may be live and/or virtual and may be presented to registeredattendees of the event or publicly to any attendees as decided by theuser. The booths may comprise any video, images, text, sponsorships andapp integrations, and be presented to the attendees via the virtualevent hosting system. The booths may be prioritized by predictedimportance by the user such that it may be listed in a customprioritized order. The booth owner may input any booth owner orpresenter information for contact by the attendees. Furthermore, anyimages, videos, or promotional content from the user or boothowner/presenter may be uploaded for presentation at the booth in theexpo. The booth owner may present or otherwise integrate with socialmedia, documents, and any other presentations through any integrationsas described above. The expos are described in more detail below.

Virtual event sponsors may be added and edited by an organizer throughsponsors tab 514. Sponsors may be any company, organization, orindividual approved by the virtual event organizer. Sponsors may uploadany images, videos, descriptions, and any other content related to thesponsorship for the expos and any other stages, sessions, networkconnections, and any pages and interactions provided by the virtualevent hosting system.

In some embodiments, venue controls tab 516 may be selected to providecontrols for the organizer or presenter to present to attendees at theevents. The user may control a plurality of interface activities at theevent which may be provided by an activity panel. The interfaceactivities may be chat panels, polls, and question and answer sessionswith the presenting users and other attendees. The interface activitiesmay be set to on or off or customized by the user for each event, stage,session, expo, and any page provided by the virtual event hostingsystem. The user may control any information that attendees see, suchas, for example, information about other attendees, presenting users,upcoming events or upcoming sessions within events, user access, andinteractions that are available to the presenting users and attendees.Furthermore, the user may allow networking between attendees andpresenting users as well as allowing attendees to create their ownsessions within an event by venue controls tab 516.

In some embodiments, the user may gamify the events by providingincentives for attending stages, sessions, expos, and completing stages,sessions, and expos as well as creating their own sessions, completingpolls and surveys, and/or interacting with any expos or otherinteractive tools at events. As part of the gamification, attendees mayaccrue credits for participating in certain ways such as, for example,participating in sessions, attending expo booths, and participating innetwork opportunities with attendees or presenters who have expressedinterest in networking with the attendees. Any accrued credits receivedfor completing the activities above may be redeemed for networkingaccess to presenters or other attendees, reduced cost on attendingevents, and any other benefit that may be provided to the attendee.

In some embodiments, the organizer may set up a guided event forattendees. In some other embodiments, a guided event may be customizedfor particular attendees based on machine learning methods, whereby aneural network is applied to attributes of an attendee and contentassociated with the virtual event to customize a virtual eventexperience for the attendees. Such a guided event may be based oninformation that the attendee provides during registration and/or basedon a profile of the attendee. The guided event may create a scheduleand/or provide alerts to the attendee as to particular sessions andexpos that may be of interest to the attendee in addition to sessions towhich the attendee has expressed interest. In some embodiments, thevirtual event hosting system automatically generates a guided event forattendees using the above machine learning mechanisms, and the attendeesmay opt in or opt out of the guided events. A guided event may updatethroughout the course of the event as the attendee's interactions withthe event are accumulated. The virtual event hosting system may furtherrecommend replays of the event based on the user's actions andinteractions after the event.

Turning to FIG. 6, the next tab on event creation menu 420 may be peopletab 426. People tab 426 may provide a plurality of subcategories via adropdown menu for the user to manage people, such as attendees andpresenters. The attending, presenting, or organizing user may alsomanage interactions between people under people tab 426 in the pagesgenerated.

FIG. 6 illustrates an exemplary attendee page 600 for tracking attendeesof the event under the people tab 426. In some embodiments, eventcreation menu 420 comprises attendees tab 602, presenting user tab 604,and magic links invites tab 606. On attendee page 600, the user may bepresented, for each user and by the virtual event hosting system,attendee list 608 including attendee names, event tracks, ticket types,ticket prices, promotions associated with each user, registration dates,and options to refund the user and/or block the user. The user may editany information on the list that may be integrated across other pages inthe event creation user interface including attendee page 600. In someembodiments, waitlist 610 is also available comprising attendees thathave registered for a full event and are waiting for a spot to open ifan attendee cancels or is otherwise unable to attend. Attendee list 608may be available for output for printing or transmitting as, forexample, a csv file; however, any document format may be used.

In some embodiments, presenting user tab 604 may be selected to add,delete, and manage presenting users. When selected, presenting user tab604 may generate or create a presenting user page where the user mayinput presenting user information associated with the presenting usersuch as, for example, name, credentials, education, curriculum vitae(CV), and associated event and session information where the presentinguser may be presenting. Any presenting user parameters may be editedunder the speak tab.

Magic link invites tab 606, in some embodiments, comprises inputs forinviting attendees, linking personal documents, and providing links tothe attendees such that the attendees can instantly attend the events.In some embodiments, attendee and presenting user documents may beuploaded. For example, CV or other documents may be uploaded for otherattendees and presenting users to view. Furthermore, the user may inviteindividuals or a plurality of potential attendees simultaneously byinputting contact information and sending a single, or personalized,message to the potential attendees. The attendees may receive a link tothe associated event such that the attendees may select the link andautomatically be transferred to a landing page of the event.

Referring to FIG. 4, the next tab on the event creation menu 420 may bemarketing tab 428. Under marketing tab 428, the user may set upmarketing emails and social media notifications to alert customers ofupcoming events and added stages, sessions, expos, and any otherinteractions associated with events. In some embodiments, mass emailsmay be sent using third-party applications. In some embodiments,notifications, such as emails, may be set up to send to attendees andpresenting users when triggering events occur. For example, emailsproviding changing information may be sent such as, session time change,timed reminders of sessions, registration notification, magic linkinvites, and any other automatic notifications that may be beneficial toattendees and presenting users may be stored and sent under marketingtab 428.

The next tab on the event creation menu 420 may be registrations tab430. Under registrations tab 430, users may set up registrations forevents including sessions, expos, networking engagements, and any otherregistrations for events. Users may define the number and types oftickets to be sold.

FIG. 7 illustrates an exemplary registration page 700 comprisingregistration menu 702 including details 704, event tickets 706, tickets708, form builder 710, sharing and messaging 712, attendees 714,registration page 716, and embeddable widgets 718. The user may defineand customize the layout of the event registration page. In someembodiments, event registration page templates 720 may be provided andthe user may select a template layout to present to prospectiveattendees. In some embodiments, the event registration page may besimilar to the event landing page (event registration page 1000)illustrated in FIG. 10 and described in detail below. In someembodiments, any items on the event registration page 1000 such as, forexample, headers, sections, presenting users, schedules, sponsors,expos, and media may be accessed and edited at the registration page700.

In some embodiments, event tracks can be created for each event. Eventtracks may define what types of tickets can be purchased and what theticket types may be used for. For example, a premium ticket may allow anattendee to attend all sessions while a regular ticket type may allow anattendee to attend events except the main presenter. Furthermore, a VIPticket may allow an attendee to meet the main presenter. In someembodiments, the user may track registration and attendance using UrchinTracking Module (UTM) codes. The user may view and manage registrationvirtual event analytics at the registrations tab. In some embodiments,the user may also access attendee list 608 and edit any registrationsassociated with the attendees either under registration tab 430 orpeople tab 426. In some embodiments, registration widgets may be used tohost registration on third-party websites. Any of the above-describedfunctionality may be accessed on the third-party website by the widgets.

Referring back to FIG. 4, the next tab on the event creation menu 420may be advanced tab 432. Under advanced tab 432, the user may haveaccess to various settings within the events system. In someembodiments, the virtual event hosting system may track registrationsand a source from which a user registered for the event. For example, anattendee may register from a third-party website such as a social mediasite. In this case, a referral is stored such that the user may benotified of the registration and so that the social media page may becompensated a percentage of the registration cost. In this way, usersmay promote events and obtain registrations through third-party sites.Management of the third-party registrations may be provided by selectingadvanced tab 432.

Furthermore, the user may be able to customize text. The user maycustomize any text that may be presented to the presenting users andattendees including labels and links. The text that may be customizedmay be included in the booths, chats, expos, networking, people, polls,and any other text and labels that may be presented to attendees andpresenting users. Furthermore, marketing may be included under advancedtab 432 and may provide any functionality as described on marketing tab428 above.

Continuing with the advanced settings, in some embodiments, the user mayinput any host information that may be displayed to attendees andpresenting users and may be displayed on a ticket type basis. Forexample, a VIP ticket may view host contact information such that theVIP user may contact the host while a regular ticket attendee may onlyview the host name and relevant credentials. Any host information may beinput or uploaded such as, for example, images, videos, contactinformation and links as well as links to social media accounts may beadded.

The next tab in the event creation menu 420 may be recordings tab 434.In some embodiments, the virtual event hosting system may providereplays. Replays may be created under recordings tab 434 or under setuptab 422 which may provide a link to recordings tab 434. In someembodiments, presentations from presenting users that are presentedduring the events may be recorded and presented for view in the futureas replays. In some embodiments, stages, sessions, and expos for anevent may take place simultaneously, and the replay for the stages,sessions, and expos may be available for view by attendees of the eventduring the event or after the event. In some embodiments, users mayregister specifically for replays when events have concluded.

The next tab on the event creation menu 420 may be virtual eventanalytics tab 436. Under virtual event analytics tab 436, the user mayhave access to various virtual event analytics and data associated withevents presented by the events system. Exemplary virtual event analyticsreports page 800 is depicted in FIG. 8. Under virtual event analyticstab 436, several sub-tabs such as, for example, live virtual eventanalytics 802, reports 804, virtual event analytics registrations 806,virtual event analytics connections 808, stage summary 810, view polls812, session summaries 814, expo summaries 816, and any other selectionsthat may display virtual event analytics associated with anypresentations, presenting users, and attendees of the events system maybe presented. The virtual event analytics may track and providestatistics for any event or user associated with the events system aswell as virtual event analytics associated with any stage, session,networking, expo, or any other interactions associated with the event.

In some embodiments, live virtual event analytics 802 may be determinedand provided to the user. Live virtual event analytics 802 may presentactive users of the events system associated with the event of the user.The active users may represent any in-person attendee and/or any virtualattendee or presenting user. Furthermore, live virtual event analytics802 may track the users in real time and provide virtual locationinformation (e.g., sessions, expos, and events) as well as an amount oftime spent at the virtual locations. Furthermore, live virtual eventanalytics 802 may provide previous location information and previoustime information for attendees. Any virtual event analytics data may bedisplayed in tabulated and/or graphic form for simplicity for the user.

FIG. 8 illustrates the exemplary virtual event analytics reports page800 for accessing reports 818 of the event. The reports 818 may provideany data virtual event analytics report for any data that may begathered in association with events including expos, sessions, networks,as well as any user-specific virtual event analytics such as, forexample, attended sessions, events, and expos. Furthermore, virtualevent analytics may be provided for time spent at sessions, expos,booths, networking engagement, polls completed, awards gained, and anyother interactions by attendees and presenting users. In general,reports 818 may cover any recordable interactions users may have withthe events system and determine average numbers of attendees at specifictimes and attendee flow rates and trends for the events. The user mayselect a report of the reports 818 and the data associated with theselected report may be processed and presented to the user. The data maybe presented in any graphical form including line, trend line, bar, pie,and any other type of presentable graph that may make the data easilyviewable.

In some embodiments, download history 820 may be accessed that providesa list of downloads by the user. The user may download reports invarious formats for publishing, presenting, and the like. The user maydownload any reports discussed herein and a history of the downloads maybe stored such that the user may view and access the downloads at alater date.

Virtual event analytics registrations 806 may provide virtual eventanalytics associated with registrations. The virtual event analyticsrelated to registrations may be based on events, for example, number ofregistrations, time of registrations, countries of registrations, numberand types of tickets sold, and any other statistics that may becalculated based on the data saved for registrations for events, stages,sessions, networking, and expos may be processed.

Virtual event analytics connections 808 may provide virtual eventanalytics associated with various network connections made during theevent. Attendees and presenters may connect to swap ideas during theevent as described above. The connections may be stored and analyzed todetermine which sessions gain the most attendees, the most interactions,the most connections, and the like. Virtual event analytics connections808 may provide insight into the interactions and engagement atparticular events.

In some embodiments, stage summary 810 allows users to download reportspresenting event virtual event analytics associated with stages. In someembodiments, the downloaded reports may be the reports provided byreports 818. In some embodiments, users may present reports to attendeesand presenters. In some embodiments, the user may download and view astage summary report. The stage summary report may present any dataassociated with a particular selected stage. For example, the user mayselect a particular stage to analyze. The stage summary report mayprovide stage information such as, for example, live stage event,in-person stage event, virtual stage event, pre-recorded stage event,sessions at the stage, presenters at the stage, schedule of the stageevent, and any other information associated with the stage. In someembodiments, the stage summary report may provide some or all virtualevent analytics for the stage such as, for example, number ofpresenters, number of registrations, number of attendees, length ofattendance per attendee, average length of attendance, and any otherdata virtual event analytics that may be recorded and reported to user.

In some embodiments, the stage summary 810 may provide options forviewing and downloading network connections and communicationsassociated with the stage events. Any network connections and electroniccommunications provided on the virtual event hosting system may beviewable by the user. In some embodiments, attendees and presenters mayelect in or elect out of providing electronic communications.

Furthermore, access to poll results may be provided under virtual eventanalytics tab 436. View polls 812 may provide the user results frompolls associated with the event. The user may provide polls to attendeesand presenters, and the polls may be provided to users under view polls812. In some embodiments, the polls may be standard polls for attendeesto complete, and the poll results may be presented to the user. Standardpoll questions may be, for example, “Did you find the presentationeducational?” “Will you research the presentation topic further?” “Wouldyou recommend this presentation to a friend or colleague?” In someembodiments, users may provide custom questions for the polls as well.Polls and surveys may be provided at any point during the events.

In some embodiments, session summaries 814 may be recorded videos of thesessions as well as documents containing notes for the sessions andtopics covered. Session summaries 814 may provide virtual eventanalytics related to the sessions such as, number of attendees, timespan attended, engagement, and any other virtual event analytics thatmay be recorded during the sessions. The session summaries 814 may beprovided to the user and downloadable in reports 804.

In some embodiments, expo summaries 816 may provide data detailing aparticular expo or group of expos at an event. Expo reports may beprovided that describe booths, virtual exhibits, vendors, brands,products, and any other expo materials on display for the expoattendees. Furthermore, expo virtual event analytics may be providedthat present any virtual event analytics related to number of attendeesto an expo event virtual hall, each expo booth, interactions fromattendees, and any other virtual event analytics that may be useful atexpos.

When the user has completed creating the event, the user may publish theevent. The event may be published at any time after minimum requirementshave been met. In some embodiments, the event may be created with atleast one stage, session, networking connection, and expo, and at leastone presenting user along with a designation of ticket types and pricesand a landing page for attending the event. In some embodiments, onlyone of a stage, session, network connection, and expo is required for anevent to be published. In some embodiments, organizers may create anycombination of event activities such as, for example, there may be onlyone session and networking opportunities, or one expo, two sessions, andnetworking opportunities. Any arrangement of event activities may becreated by the organizer.

FIG. 9 depicts an exemplary method for creating an event by a userinterface generally referenced by the numeral 900. At step 902, thevirtual event hosting system may receive, by the user, input indicativeof creating an event as described in embodiments above. The virtualevent hosting system may present input fields and request informationsuch as, for example, event name, schedule, ticketing information, andthe like. An event may be generated from the input received from theuser. In some embodiments, schedules for specific interactions at theevent are generated for the attendees based on attendee historicalinformation and preferences.

At step 904, the virtual event hosting system may receive registrationfor the event as described in embodiments above. The user may inputticket types and cost associated with the ticket types. For example, theticket types may be regular, premium, and VIP. The cost of the ticketsmay correlate to a level of access that the ticket provides. Forexample, the user may create a regular ticket that an attendee may useto access the event with the exception of the keynote. Similarly, theVIP ticket may receive full access to the event and a 3 min live orvirtual meet-and-greet with the keynote speaker. Any arrangement ofticket registrations and cost may be imagined.

At step 906, the virtual event hosting system may generate a stage forsupporting a presentation from the presenting user that may be viewedvirtually by the attendees as described in embodiments herein. The stagemay be a real-life stage with a presenting user on the stage withcameras capturing the presentation and providing a live feed to theattendees viewing remotely. In some embodiments, the stage is only avirtual presentation and there are no attendees present at thepresenting user's location. The stage may refer to the virtualpresentation of the presenting user presented by video and audiobroadcast to the attendees.

At step 908, the virtual event hosting system may generate a sessionsupporting two-way interaction between the presenting user and theattendees of the presentation as described in embodiments herein. Thepresenting user may receive questions from the attendees virtually andrespond. The virtual session is set up for two-way communication and, insome embodiments, both the presenting user and the speaking attendee maybe visible on the display presented by the user interface. In someembodiments, the presenting user may have a live audience and theattendee may communicate with the live audience.

At step 910, the virtual event hosting system may generate networkingconnections based on the user input as described in embodiments herein.The user may elect to include networking connections that may begenerated automatically by randomly selecting event attendees tointeract via video and audio broadcasting provided by the virtual eventhosting system. In some embodiments, the user may select attendees toconnect and in other embodiments, the attendees may request networkingconnections with other attendees.

At step 912, the virtual event hosting system may generate an expo basedon the user inputs as described in embodiments herein. Booths may beprovided virtually for the attendees of the event. The attendees mayselect a booth and view a short video as well as promotional products.In some embodiments, the attendees may interact with the booth byselecting and purchasing or ordering products.

At step 914, when the user is finished creating the event, the user maypublish the event instantly or by setting a publishing schedule. In someembodiments, the user may market the event on other events prior topublishing to bring attention to the event. In some embodiments, theevent may be marketed on third-party websites promoting a launch date ofthe event or when tickets for the event go on sale. When the event ispublished, registered users may attend.

At step 916, the user may set up and view virtual event analyticsassociated with the event as described above. The virtual eventanalytics may provide the user valuable data related to attendance andtime spent viewing the events. The virtual event analytics may providethe user with valuable information on how to schedule and price futureevents. Furthermore, the user may adjust ticket prices and schedulingduring the event to attract attendees to various virtual locationsthroughout the event.

Any detailed description provided of the processes described above maybe incorporated into the method described herein. Steps of theabove-described method may be performed in any arrangement withoutdeparting from the scope of the process.

Attending an Event

In some embodiments, the user may be an attendee of the event. The usermay create a profile, or the host profile created for the user may beused as an attendee. As depicted in FIG. 2 above, the user may bepresented with events that may be likely to be interesting to the userbased on the stored profile of the user and a history of interactions bythe user with the virtual event hosting system. Furthermore, the storedprofile of the user may store any data obtained from any associatedsystems and applications through network connections and interactionsbetween applications on the computing system. In some embodiments, theseinteractions may be click throughs, previous events attended, previousevents hosted, amount of time spent at events, amount of time viewingevent descriptions, and the like. In some embodiments, data fromthird-party websites may be used to determine events to present to theuser. User interactions with associated applications may be stored onthe user profile as well. Furthermore, the user may search for specificevents or topics, and events related to the topics search may bepresented to the user.

FIG. 10 illustrates an exemplary event registration page 1000 as createdin embodiments above. In some embodiments, event registration page 1000comprises header menu 1002, description 1004 about a company summit,presenting users 1006 at the company summit, schedule 1008 of thecompany summit, and sponsors 1010 of the company summit. In someembodiments, the user may select any of the items on header menu 1002 toview the contents. In some embodiments, the user may scroll the lengthof event registration page 1000 and the items viewable by header menu1002 may be provided on event registration page 1000 as shown. In someembodiments, selection of each item may display the items individuallyon separate pages.

Furthermore, event registration page 1000 may provide a registrationbutton 1012 for selection and registration to the company summit event.The user may register as a guest user and input basic information suchas name and contact information. In some embodiments, the profile of theuser may be accessed automatically to register the user to the companysummit event. In some embodiments, the user may pay money to register tothe company summit. The profile of the user may have a stored accountfrom which the money may be pulled, or the user may provide accountinformation to pay for the registration.

When the user is registered, the user may attend the company summitevent. FIG. 11 illustrates an exemplary landing page, or reception page1100, for the company summit event. In some embodiments, reception page1100 comprises side menu 1102 comprising items for selection for theuser such as, for example, reception 1104, stages 1106, sessions 1108,networking 1110, and expo 1112. Side menu 1102 items are discussed indetail below. Furthermore, reception page 1100 may comprise the companycurrent or live events 1134, summit description 1136, the event schedule1138, time left in the event 1132, attendees of the event, notificationsfor the user, a link to the user profile, and may display eventengagement menu 1114 for the user to engage with other organizationmembers and/or attendees.

In some embodiments, event engagement menu 1114 is provided on receptionpage 1100. Event engagement menu 1114 may comprise chats 1116, polls1118, people 1120, question and answer (Q&A) 1122, social media (SM)1124, surveys 1126, and a menu selection 1128 that allows the user toactivate and deactivate event engagements. When chats 1116 is selectedfor activation, the user may chat with any attendee and any presentinguser that is registered for the event and is eligible for chat. Any usermay make themselves either available to chat or unavailable.

In some embodiments, the user may select polls 1118 and poll questions,as described above, may appear in engagement field 1130. The user mayselect from a list of multiple-choice responses to the polls or providea custom written response. In some embodiments, polls are automaticallyprovided to the user at the conclusion of stages, sessions, networkingengagements, expos, or the like.

In some embodiments, the user may select people 1120 from eventengagement menu 1114. When people 1120 is selected, a list of names, orpersonal identifiers, for all people associated with the event may belisted in engagement field 1130. In some embodiments, informationdescribing the people may be displayed, such as, for example, attendeeor presenting user. In some embodiments, the people displayed may beteam members of the organization and the descriptions may be the fieldof work such as, for example, accountant, engineer, CFO, and the like.The identifier of a person may be selected, and the user may bepresented with a set of options such as, for example, video call,schedule a meeting, send a message, and the like. The user may select anoption and contact the person.

In some embodiments, Q&A 1122 may be selected, and the user may bepresented with a question in engagement field 1130. The question mayselectively be displayed to the presenting user, team members of theorganization, attendees of the company summit, and any other group orindividual associated with the company summit.

In some embodiments, the user may select SM 1124. SM 1124 may display afeed from a social media timeline in engagement field 1130. For example,a chat field may be linked and displayed using a third-party socialmedia platform such as TWITTER™, FACEBOOK™, SNAPCHAT™, or any othersocial media application.

In some embodiments, surveys 1126 may be selected. Surveys 1126 may linkto a third-party survey application that conducts integrated web-basedsurveys for tracking user experience on the virtual event hostingsystem. The data gathered and analyzed may be provided to the virtualevent hosting system for analysis and feedback to the host of thecompany summit as described in embodiments above.

In some embodiments, the user may select items from side menu 1102.Users may select stages 1106. When the user selects stages 1106, a listof available stages may be presented to the user. The user may selectone of the stage options and attend a stage presentation virtually. Thestage options may be any of the presentations, keynotes, performances,and fireside chats as listed above.

FIG. 12 illustrates an exemplary video display 1200 that, in someembodiments, may be accessed by the user for stage presentations,sessions, networking, expos, and any other video feeds that may beaccessed by the attendee. Video display 1200 may be provided by anyvideo player accessible by the virtual event hosting system. In someembodiments, the video player may comprise any selections for the userto add and display other user's via the video player. Video display 1200may be arranged in any way. In some embodiments, video display 1200 maybe provided by any application or integration accessible by the virtualevents system. In some embodiments, when a stage is selected, the usermay view the presentation muted and with no video, or the user may sharevideo of the user and unmute such that the user may add to thepresentation. The video display 1200 may provide options for resetbutton 1202, broadcast button 1204, leave button 1206, and any otheroptions. In some embodiments, reset button 1202 may function to resetthe stage presentation when a stage is broken such as, for example, ifthe presentation is frozen or if a network signal is weak or is lost.

In some embodiments, broadcast button 1204 may be selected to share orstop sharing the user video taken by a user camera during sessions andnetworking as described herein. Any user may select broadcast button1204 to conduct video calls during the event. Furthermore, leave button1206 may be presented to the user to leave the stage presentation. Whenleave button 1206 is selected, the user may leave the stage and berouted back to reception page 1100 or any other page of the event.

In some embodiments, engagement field 1130 is provided including optionsfor event 1208, which may provide a chat between attendees, exposelection 1210, and stage 1212. Stage 1212, as described above, allowspresenting users to present to attendees and may provide identifiers ofattendees and the presenting user as well as the presentation topic andlinks to attend sessions, networking, and expos associated with thestage. In some embodiments, a backstage selection allows presentingusers to rehearse or otherwise prepare without attendees. Presentingusers may present and chat with other presenting users and organizersthat the presenting user allows into the backstage presentation. Thisallows presenting users and organizers to prepare to go live toattendees prior to the live presentation. In some embodiments, any usersmay connect by video display 1200.

Continuing with FIG. 12 where the user is an attendee and isbroadcasting during a session, the user may select broadcast button 1204to start and stop the broadcast. In some embodiments, the user mayselect from a plurality of sessions presented by the user interface. Anysessions that may be included with the company summit event may beincluded for attendance by the registered attendee. Each session may bepresented with a brief description and an indication on the status ofthe session such as, for example, open, moderated, private, or the like.In some embodiments, when the session is underway, a number of peopleviewing may be displayed. In some embodiments, only attendees andpresenting users are displayed while they are speaking. The user mayselect a session for access to the session and video display 1200 may bepresented. The user may interact with the session by selecting the videoicon 1214 for starting and stopping the video feed, microphone icon 1216for allowing the user audio, the display icon 1218 for displaying theuser's video, and the tools icon 1220 for displaying customizable toolsfor the user. In some embodiments, attendees may create their ownsessions to engage with other attendees.

In some embodiments, the user may register for networking and thevirtual event hosting system presents a list of attendees that the usermay message to request communication. In some embodiments, the virtualevent hosting system automatically connects the user to attendees fornetworking. In some embodiments, the connections may be random or may bebased at least in part on historical data, profile data, and any virtualevent analytics as described above. In some embodiments, the user mayutilize video display 1200 to connect with the other attendees and/orpresenting users. Networking may be provided by ticket type or byindividual purchase.

Furthermore, in some embodiments, a designated amount of time may beallocated to each network connection. For example, a presenting user orattendee may meet one-on-one with 20 different attendees. The networkconnections may only last a total of 3 minutes allowing the presentinguser/attendee to meet with everyone but allocating a same amount of timeto each interaction and not taking too much time. The time limits may bedesignated by the presenting user/attendee or may be purchased forvarying amounts of money. For example, 3 minutes may be $20, 5 minutesmay be $30, and so forth. In some embodiments, the network connectionsare only between attendees and the presenting users are only accessiblevia the sessions as described above.

In some embodiments, the user may access booths of an expo and viewpre-recorded videos promoting companies and products and be able topurchase said products. The expo booths may present videos and images.For example, videos by the company of the company summit may be providedby accessing a company summit booth and may provide access to featureevents, products, and a general description of the company.

Furthermore, in some embodiments, integrations may be provided for theuser to view. Integrations, as described above, may provide access todocuments, videos, images, and other tools that the user may interactwith to provide the user a complete experience with the expo. Forexample, the integration may be a slide deck presentation that mayutilize the slide deck platform that may be downloaded and run directlyon the virtual event hosting system. In some embodiments, a snapbar maybe accessible for users to provide images such as, pictures ofthemselves or others to engage other attendees. Integrations may providefilters to modify the pictures taken by the team members and/orattendees. In some embodiments, as described above screen and contentsharing may be utilized as well as accessing content on other user'sscreens when allowed.

FIG. 13 depicts an exemplary embodiment of a method of an attendeeattending the event generally referenced by the numeral 1300. At step1302, the virtual event hosting system may receive a registration fromthe attendee by the user interface as described in embodiments above.The attendee may provide personal information for creating a profilesuch as, for example, name, location, interests, reasons for registeringfor the event, and the like. The attendee may select a ticket type thatprovides the attendee access to items at the event that the attendeedesires to see. The attendee may also receive a customized schedule forthe event automatically determined and provided by the virtual eventhosting system.

At step 1304, the virtual event hosting system may receive selection ofa stage from the attendee and the stage may be presented to the user asdescribed in embodiments above. The attendee may wish to view thepresentation of the presenting user of the stage and may select thestage of the event. The attendee may attend by selecting the event atthe scheduled time and a video display providing a live feed from thestage may be displayed on the user interface of the attendee.Furthermore, the attendee may be provided with a chat field forcommunicating with other attendees during the event.

At step 1306, the virtual event hosting system may receive a selectionof a session associated with the stage by the attendee by the userinterface and the session may be presented to the user as described inembodiments above. The attendee may hear and view the presenting userand other attendees as the other attendees engage. The attendee mayrequest to ask a question and be queued. The attendee may communicatewith the presenting user and the other attendees may hear and view theattendee by the user interface presented to the other attendees. In someembodiments, the attendee may elect to be heard but not seen.

At step 1308, the virtual event hosting system may receive a networkingselection by the attendee by the user interface. The attendee may wishto engage with other attendees to discuss the presentation. Thenetworking connection may provide a virtual environment for theattendees to meet. The networking connection may connect attendeesrandomly or based on similarities of the attendees determined fromprofile and historical information as described above. In someembodiments, the attendee may request a connection with a specificattendee of the event.

At step 1310, the virtual event hosting system may receive a selection,by the user interface, of an expo for attendance by the attendee. Theexpo may present a plurality of booths for attendance. Each booth may beassociated with a company or presenting user at the event. The boothsmay present videos, images, and descriptions of companies and products.The attendee may interact with a booth to receive or request moreinformation or purchase a product.

At step 1312, the virtual event hosting system may follow up with theattendee by providing questionnaires, polls, and surveys. Any virtualevent analytics, polls, and interactions between the virtual eventhosting system and the attendee may occur at any point during any of theabove-described method steps. The results may be tabulated or presentedin any graphical format and presented to the user such that the user mayuse the information to create more engaging events in the future.

Many different arrangements of the various components depicted, as wellas components not shown, are possible without departing from the scopeof the claims below. Embodiments of the invention have been describedwith the intent to be illustrative rather than restrictive. Alternativeembodiments will become apparent to readers of this disclosure after andbecause of reading it. Alternative means of implementing theaforementioned can be completed without departing from the scope of theclaims below. Certain features and subcombinations are of utility andmay be employed without reference to other features and subcombinationsand are contemplated within the scope of the claims. Although theinvention has been described with reference to the embodimentsillustrated in the attached drawing figures, it is noted thatequivalents may be employed, and substitutions made herein withoutdeparting from the scope of the invention as recited in the claims.

Having thus described various embodiments of the invention, what isclaimed as new and desired to be protected by Letters Patent includesthe following:
 1. A method of creating a virtual event by an eventorganizer and presenting the virtual event to an event attendee, themethod comprising: receiving, from the event organizer, creation of thevirtual event, wherein the virtual event comprises stages, sessions,network connections, expos and one or more presenters; receivingregistration creation information including ticket information forattending the virtual event; creating a stage supporting a presentationfrom a presenter of the one or more presenters to a plurality ofattendees including the event attendee; creating a session supportinglive interaction between the presenter and the plurality of attendees;creating the networking connections supporting interaction between thepresenter and the event attendee; creating an expo providing virtualbooths comprising sponsor materials; receiving, from the event attendee,a registration for the virtual event; receiving, by the event attendee,a selection of the stage for viewing the presentation; presenting aprivate connection between the presenter and the event organizer torehearse the presentation prior to presenting the presentation live tothe plurality of attendees; presenting a video of the presentation inreal time to the event attendee; receiving a selection of the session bythe event attendee; connecting, by video, the event attendee with thepresenter; receiving a selection of the network connections by the eventattendee; receiving a selection of the expo by the event attendee; andpresenting, to the event attendee, an expo video displaying informationindicative of a company associated with the virtual event.
 2. The methodof claim 1, wherein the network connections comprise a one-to-one videoconnection between the presenter and the event attendee.
 3. The methodof claim 1, further comprising connecting, by video, the plurality ofattendees in the session.
 4. The method of claim 1, further comprisingproviding, to the event attendee, access to the virtual event, thesession, the network connections, or the expo, based on a ticket type ofthe event attendee.
 5. The method of claim 1, further comprising:tracking attendance at the virtual event and amount of time of theattendance at the virtual event; and presenting the attendance and theamount of time of the attendance to the event organizer.
 6. The methodof claim 1, further comprising: recording the presentation; andpresenting the recorded presentation to attendees after the virtualevent has concluded.
 7. One or more non-transitory computer-readablemedia storing computer executable instructions that, when executed by aprocessor, perform a method of creating a virtual event for presentationto attendees of the virtual event, the method comprising: receiving,from a user, creation of the virtual event, wherein the virtual eventcomprises stages, sessions, network connections, expos, and one or morepresenters; receiving registration information including ticketinformation for attending the virtual event; creating a stage supportinga presentation from a presenter of the one or more presenters to aplurality of attendees; creating a session supporting live interactionbetween the presenter and the plurality of attendees; creating thenetwork connections supporting interaction between a first attendee anda second attendee of the plurality of attendees; creating an expoproviding virtual booths comprising expo videos; providing apre-recorded expo video with a description of a company associated withthe virtual event; and presenting the virtual event to the plurality ofattendees of the virtual event.
 8. The media of claim 7, wherein thecomputer-executable instructions are further executed to performcreating a guided schedule for the first attendee based on interests ofthe first attendee.
 9. The media of claim 8, wherein the interests ofthe first attendee are determined by analyzing profile data and ahistory of attended events of the first attendee.
 10. The media of claim7, wherein the computer executable-instructions are further executed toperform: collecting data indicative of movements of the first attendeethroughout the virtual event; analyzing the data; and providing resultsof the analyzing to the user.
 11. The media of claim 10, wherein thecomputer executable-instructions are further executed to perform:accessing applications on a mobile device of an in-person attendee;collecting in-person data indicative of in-person movements of thein-person attendee in a venue of the virtual event; analyzing thein-person data; and providing in-person results of the analyzing of thein-person data to the user.
 12. The media of claim 7, wherein the firstattendee attends the expo after the virtual event has concluded and apre-recorded video of the presentation is accessed in a section ofpreviously attended events comprising replays.
 13. A system forpresenting a virtual event for attendance by a user, the systemcomprising: a processor; a data store; a display for presenting agraphical user interface to the user; and one or more non-transitorycomputer-readable media storing computer-executable instructions that,when executed by the processor, perform a method of presenting thevirtual event, the method comprising: receiving input from the userindicative of a registration for the virtual event; receiving, by theuser, a selection of a stage for viewing a presentation of a presenter,wherein the presentation is presented to in-person attendees; receivinga selection of a session by the user; connecting the user with thepresenter of the presentation by video in the session; connecting, byvideo, the user with an attendee of the virtual event; communicativelyconnecting the user in the session via a live broadcast to a venue ofthe presentation and the in-person attendees; receiving a selection ofan expo by the user; and presenting, to the user, an expo videodisplaying information indicative of a company associated with thepresenter.
 14. The system of claim 13, wherein the presenter presents atthe venue to the in-person attendees; wherein the presentation is storedfor future viewing by registered users.
 15. The system of claim 13,wherein the presentation includes at least one integration from athird-party application.
 16. The system of claim 13, wherein thecomputer-executable instructions are further executed to perform:presenting polls or surveys to the user; and tabulating results of thepolls or the surveys and presenting the results to a host of the virtualevent.
 17. The system of claim 13, wherein the computer-executableinstructions are further executed to perform: recording thepresentation; and presenting the recorded presentation to attendeesafter the virtual event has concluded.
 18. A method of creating avirtual event by an event organizer and presenting the virtual event toan attendee, the method comprising: receiving, from the event organizer,creation of the virtual event; creating a stage supporting apresentation from a presenter to a plurality of attendees, wherein thepresentation from the presenter is presented to a plurality of in-personattendees at a venue; creating a session supporting live interactionbetween the presenter and the plurality of attendees; receiving, by theattendee, a selection of the stage for viewing the presentation;presenting a video of the presentation in real time to the attendee viathe stage; receiving a selection of the session by the attendee; andcommunicatively connecting, the attendee via the session with thepresenter and the plurality of in-person attendees at the venue of thepresenter.